Abducted
by Wildcat Abby
Summary: A team member has gone missing over the weekend.
1. Chapter 1

Hello there! Thank you to everyone still reading and writing fanfics about The Brave. Hope all is well fellow Bravers.

Much Obliged,

Abby

Abducted

Chapter 1

Adam is on his way to Blue Ridge Mountain to recharge. He has 2 days off and wanted to take this opportunity to air out his cabin, do some mowing, check for structure damages if any. Jaz is with Hannah for an all day spa and girl bonding weekend. Preach is with his family. McG and Amir are staying with Noah for some basketball championship/guy bonding. He was invited as well but decided to do some chores.

He took out his motorcycle from the storage facility. He called Jaz and she answered in one ring.

"Hey, you already at Hannah's?"

Her voice is laced with excitement. "Yes, I am. We're going to a club tonight for some dancing."

He can hear Hannah loud in the background. "Don't worry Adam, I got her."

"Ok be a good." he reminded Jaz.

"I always am." Jaz teased.

"And Jaz…"

"Yes?"

"I..." he paused "Just be careful ok and have fun."

"Copy that Captain!" They said in unison.

He smirked as he thought of the ladies playfully giving him a salute as they answered him. "Alright bye." He slid the phone in his back pocket and, put on his helmet and drove on.

It was a nice weather for driving on the open road. Adam missed riding his motorcycle and how the breeze felt on his skin as he goes. It felt very peaceful.

Up ahead, he saw a vehicle with the hood up, an older lady who is kicking the tires and screaming her frustrations to the car.

He stopped in front of her and removed his helmet.

"Ma'am, are you ok? Maybe I can help?" The woman looks to be Asian. _Chinese? Vietnamese?_

She looked at him and didn't speak. Adam gently repeated his question "Ma'am, are you okay ? Maybe I can help?"

The woman stated to speak in Mandarin. Adam brows scrunched together, not comprehending what's she's saying.

"Ma'am, are you Chinese? I don't understand Chinese but I'll look at the car, ok?" The lady continued to speak in her own language. She was pulling her hair in desperation and pointed at the car then at the road. She clasped her hands together and looked at him with begging eyes.

When Adam inches closer to her and the car, he saw a sudden change in her demeanor. Her eyes widen like saucers and it's laced with fear. Immediately, Adam held his arms up. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. I mean no harm. I'm just going to check your car". He points to the car to gesture his good intentions.

He then felt something cold at the back of his neck and heard a click. It was followed by a heavily accented "Don't move." He was handcuffed and then turned around. He saw 3 Asian men and a heavily tinted black limo. _She was a decoy? _Adam thought.

A sack was quickly placed in his head and he was ushered inside the vehicle. A gun pointed sharply at his side. _This is not good._ "I'm just trying to help the old lady…" Adam explains as he hears the old lady's voice again talking to one of the guys. They're conversing in Chinese, then a gun shot rang in the air followed by a thud. Car doors closed. The car started to move.

"What's going on?" Adam demanded. "I think you've mistaken me for somebody else."

His captor spoke that sent chills up his spine. "Oh there's no mistake Captain Adam Dalton. No mistake at all."

Adam struggled then he felt a needle poke his arm and the blackness enveloped him.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello there! Hope you enjoy this latest fan fiction.

Much Obliged,

Abby

Chapter 2

05 August Monday 0752H

DIA Building

Noah, McG, and Amir alighted from the elevator with coffees in their hands. Opening the conference room, they saw Patricia already there with Preach. Preach was showing her the latest pictures of his family. A few moments later, the door opened and Hannah and Jaz came in looking fresh and recharged. McG approached and held the door as he greeted them.

"Good morning! Something's different about you ladies. Did you dye your hair Jaz? Maybe cover some grey hairs starting to show?" McG teased.

"Ugh! I don't have grey hairs thank you very much!" Jaz pokes McG on the chest as if punctuating every word she said. "But, if I ever see one, I'm sure it is somehow caused by you." Jaz's a little upset with herself because she took the bait. Hannah saw the interaction between the two, just shook her head smiling and walked pass by McG.

"Good morning Hannah, you look beautiful today." McG said in a low seductive flirty voice causing Hannah to blush.

"See, why can't I have that kind of greeting?" Jaz questioned McG hand by her hip.

McG just shrugged. "And what, have Top shooting daggers at me? No way _Senorita_! "

"Speaking of…" Amir checked his watch. 0755H and their usual prompt leader is nowhere in sight. "Is Top in yet?"

Preach looked at his watch too. "I haven't seen him. I've been here since 0625H. He's usually the first to arrive. Let me check the other rooms."

Preach came back and saw that it's still the 6 of them there. "Hey, I have checked the restrooms and the cafeteria. He's not there."

Noah then tapped on his laptop checking the record for the building. "Neither his ID badge nor his fingerprints has showed up yet in the system this morning. Maybe he's late? There's always a first time."

Patricia tapped her pen on the desk. "_Odd_. He is never late." She got her phone and speed dialed 2. It rang thrice before going to voicemail. "This is Adam, you know what to do."

"Did any of you called or received a call from Adam over the weekend?" Patricia's voice now laced with a bit of worry. They all shook their heads.

"I spoke to him Friday afternoon when he got his motorcycle out of storage. That was about 1630H I think. He was on his way to his cabin." Jaz volunteered.

_Something doesn't feel right_. Patricia acted on instinct. "Hannah, check on CCTV footage on his route since Friday afternoon. Noah, trace his phone now." Both started clicking on their keyboards.

Suddenly feeling worried and helpless, Jaz voiced out "What can we do to help?"

"Help Hannah with the CCTV footage. I need to make some calls." Patricia made a quick exit.

Amir, Jaz and Hannah were concentrating on the footages that was put up on the big screens in front of them.

Preach was starting to feel frustrated and spoke to McG. "We might need to widen the search like in dash cams or personal cctvs. Not every inch of the highway is covered by the traffic cctvs. I may need to hack in."

"Hey, let's tell Director Campbell first. I'm sure she'll get you the permissions you need. Don't commit a…" McG was momentarily distracted by one of the screens on the wall of the glass encased room next to theirs. A picture of Top was being flashed on screen.

McG stood up quickly and snapped his fingers at the guy closest to the monitor. "Hey put the volume up please."

He called them in from the other room. "Guys! Quick! The breaking news has Top's picture."

"What?" Jaz screamed. They all dashed to the room and huddled up, listening to the reporter.

"The old lady who seemed to be of an Asian descent, was shot at a close range in the back of the head. Medical examiner on scene has put the time of death between 6 and 7 Friday night. Police has recovered a motorcycle with PA plates on the scene. Registration showed it belongs to one Adam Timothy Dalton, 32. Authorities has released this driver's license picture of the suspect and asked witnesses come forward or to call the local police or the FBI hotline for any tips on concerning the suspect's whereabouts. The police also reminded the public not to engage as he is considered armed and dangerous. "

"What?" Hannah shook her head in disbelief.

Amir slammed his hand at the desk. "He's being set-up."

"Who had the guts to do this?" an infuriated McG questioned.

"_Are they not thinking_?" spitted Jaz. Her frustration aimed at the TV. "Top cannot be a suspect! If he did it, _why_… _why then _would he leave his motorcycle when he fled the scene? _Of all the stupidest…_ "

"Guys." Patricia came in and they all turned around. "Yeah, I saw the news. We have to find out whose framing Adam and more importantly, his whereabouts."

Patricia pulled Hannah to the side "I want a wiretap on that tip line. But it can't come out of this office. I don't know if the FBI is gonna share information since the person of interest is one of ours. Are you still in touch with your contacts there?" Hannah nodded .

"Think you can pull some strings? Patricia continued. "Just do it low key…"

Hannah understood what she meant. "Of course. We don't want to ruffle feathers. I'm on it."

Noah voiced out "I just checked the CCTV near the place of that newscast, there were blindspots so we cannot tell."

"I have an idea but I'll need permission to hack their database." says Preach.

Patricia tilted her chin to Preach. "What's your plan?"  
"Dash cams of trucking companies that use that route."

"Good idea. You have it. I'll work on the legalities later. Do it now Preach."

Noah was already typing on his computer. "Preach, these are list of trucking companies that use that route." He made way for Preach to do his thing.

Noah approached Patricia. "Dalton's phone last pinged at the Blue Ridge area. I tried calling it again but the phone is now turned off. Whether it because the battery's drained or intentional, we don't have a clue."

A few moments later, "Guys, I have something!" exclaimed Preach. _That's why Preach is one of the best. _Patricia gathered everyone.

"The timestamp on this truck was the same one as reported by the news. I adjusted for about 2 hours And fortunately for us, this truck was parked at a diner near the highway. It's aimed at Dalton's back but we can see the lady.

Noah made a few clicks "Putting it up." All of them are glued to the big screen.

They saw Top's bike approach the car and him speaking to the lady. Amir focused on the screen. "Can you zoom to her face?" Amir brows scrunch as he did his best to lip read. His lips were mimicking hers. "I think it's Mandarin…"

They saw a heavily tinted black limo with no plates came into the picture. 3 armed men. One man was a lookout. The other guy pointed the gun at Top, handcuffed him, put a sack over his head, and shoved him inside the limo. The last guy conversed with the woman. When she turned around, he shot her point blank. The limo sped off. It was quick.

Patricia gripped on her necklace. Jaz stifled a cry. McG shouted an expletive. The rest are stunned still looking at the screen. Amir concentrated on the tape. He knows that this is his best way to help Top.

A few rewinds of the tape later, Amir translated "It is Chinese, Mandarin to be exact. Little English, stop car. Sorry I do this. Dead, if I don't."

_This was planned. _Patricia thought_._ "Noah, I need facial recognitions on those on screen right now. Hannah, get me the Director. " _Hold on Adam._ _Hold on._


	3. Chapter 3

Hello there! For this chapter and hereabouts, I didn't get into fully researching the hierarchy and protocols of different government organizations/ form of interrogations because I didn't want to be flagged down (If the FBI do really monitor what we google, better be on the safe side :) )

I hope you'll allow me the leeway and still get my drift. This** IS** purely fan fiction.

I'm also on Twitter, username –wildcatabby, for previews /updates.

Much Obliged,

Abby

Chapter 3

02 August Friday 2130H

Mr. Wong 's Dimsum and Tea Palace Restaurant Basement,

Blue Ridge, GA

Adam stirs and comes slowly into consciousness. His head felt fuzzy. His brain is still trying to figure out what had happened.

His eyelids fluttered. Opening his eyes slowly, he was momentarily blinded by white lights above him. His back felt cold._ Where am I?_ He tried to sit up only to realize that his hands and feet are handcuffed to a metal slab. He closed his eyes and puffed out a breath.

He tried to recall what situation landed him in this predicament. He remembered seeing the car with the hood up. The lady speaking in a foreign language and then everything else that followed. _They know who I am and I don't know who they are. That's definitely not a good sign._

He took a minute to compose himself. The faces of his team flashed on his mind… _JAZ! I need to get back_ _to them … to her._ He listened intently for his surroundings, if there's anyone with him. Only the slow hum of generator can be heard_. Ok it's quiet. I must be alone._

He opened his eyes again and slowly turned his head to the right where he saw different medical equipment. There were retractors, scalpels, drill bits, different sizes of surgical knives, syringes and small vials. On his left, he saw containers of chemicals that if put together, it can be used to make a deadly bomb._ I need to get out of here. _

-OOO-

05 August 0821H

DIA Building

The assistant told Hannah that Director Richard Clemments is unavailable at the moment. Hannah relayed the info to Patricia. "_Unavailable?_ That's not acceptable. I'll handle it." Dismissing Hannah, Patricia rode the elevator to the top floor.

_Is there's a mole inside the DIA?... How long? How many? The rest day were given only Friday afternoon so it must be from the inside. Adam is with those fuckers for two whole days. TWO WHOLE DAMN DAYS!_

When she alighted from the elevator, that same assistant stood from his desk most likely to stop her from going in. She arched her eyebrow, tilted her chin and her eyes silently issued a challenge._ Try and stop me_.

With her determined stance, the assistant sat down again and picked up the telephone, most likely to give a heads up to his boss. She continued walking until she reached her destination.

Deciding that that's enough warning, she didn't bother knocking and just opened the door.

"Patricia" the Director greets her as he puts down the phone and stands up. He gestures to the chair in front of her.

She didn't bother sitting down, this isn't a social call after all. "This won't take long. I want to know what made you decide to give the weekend off to my team?" Patricia gripped the top chair as she waited his answer.

Confusion etched all over his face. "Excuse me?" The Director not understanding the hostility she's projecting at the moment.

Patricia took a deep breath and repeated the question.

The Director seemed, again, baffled by the question. "I don't understand. You _did not_ like for your team to have some time off?"

"No. _Not if it gets one of them abducted and is now being framed for murder._ " She crossed her arms in front of her so that she could stop herself from grabbing that heavy looking paperweight near her and hurl it across the room.

"_What?! When?!_ It must be why my assistant gave these couple of urgent messages from the FBI Director and from local police." He stood up and showed Patricia the notes on his desk. "I just arrived and have yet to call any of them back. Any idea who we're dealing with?"

Patricia ran her hands through her hair. "No one has come forward yet to take credit or responsibility or to make any demands. It happened sometime Friday afternoon. We only learned of his abduction this morning when he didn't show up."

The Director sighed and placed his hands on his pockets. "Who do they have? What's the situation?"

"It's Dalton. He was on his way up his cabin for the weekend when he was taken at gunpoint, handcuffed and shoved inside a black, heavily tinted, unlicensed limo by 3 armed Chinese men. The decoy they used was shot at close range and Dalton is now the police and FBI's prime suspect having recovered his motorcycle on scene."

Patricia studied the Director as he was processing what she just said. The genuine look of surprise and concern makes her believe that he has no part of whatever is going on. She'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

"The abduction was well executed for it to be a random occurrence. So I ask you again_ sir_, what led you to decide to give them the weekend off?"

The Director slumped in his chair. His face was telling, more paler now and looking way older than his actual age. His forehead furrowed and seems to be racking his brains out.

Patricia knew that the Director is retiring by the end of the year. _Could he been complacent? _

Then suddenly there's comprehension on the Director's face. _ Could it be? _He thought. The moment he knew that it's probable…He rubbed his temples and now feeling dejected, he mumbled "Patricia, I'm so sorry…"

"What?" Patricia said in a faint disbelieving voice.

_Protocols be damned! _ Patricia then lurched in front of his desk and slammed her fist on it. "_What?!_" she repeated angrily. Closing in on him, her voice was seething "What are you sorry for? Tell me! _Tell me right now Richard_. What do you know? I need to find him."


	4. Chapter 4

This chapter is mostly a backgrounder. Sorry it took too long post.

Much Obliged,

Abby

Chapter 4

02 Jan 2014

DIA Building

Cassidy Meltzer has admired Deputy Director Patricia Campbell ever since the latter has served as a guest speaker at their commencement exercise. Soon after, Cassidy applied for a basic entry level position at the DIA and has been working her way up.

Cass was called in to be at the office at ungodly hour of 0300H. Sleepily, she put her hair in a bun and she just got her carry-all bag. She needed to wake up so she stopped at a 7-11 store and got her caffeine fix. That coffee pit stop is about to make her late but it is much needed to wake her up. She mouthed _sorry _to the CCTV camerawhen she ran a red light. She showed her ID to the guard at the entrance and she parked her car quickly.

She saw the elevator door closing and she shouted with all her might while running carefully so not to burn herself with the hot coffee. _"Hold please!" _

Elevator door closed before she got in front of it, then it opened again. Inside was Deputy Director Campbell. Cassidy's mouth opened in shocked and hesitated to enter the elevator. Patricia gave a friendly smile and motioned for her to come inside the elevator. Cassidy realized her mouth was still opened, so she closed it and swallowed her saliva before she starts drooling. Patricia is in a crisp white silk blouse paired with a pantsuit. She looks immaculate from her stylish short cropped hair to her shiny heeled boots. _AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING!_

Patricia looked at Cassidy with her carry all bag and coffee in one hand. "What floor?"

Cassidy bowed her head. "Oh sorry, 10th please kindly."

"First time to be on-call?"

Cassidy nodded "Yes, ma'am."

"Ah, that explains the heels and jammies." Patricia said teasingly.

"Heels and what?!" Cassidy looked down to see that she's still wearing her Care Bear's pajamas. Her eyes went wide like saucers and she felt the heat creeping all over her body. Her hands came up to her chest and she realized she's not even wearing a bra! _That's why the guy at the 7-11 was leering at my chest_!

"Do you have a change of clothes in that carry-all of yours?"

She shook her head slightly. Mortification fills Cassidy._ Oh I wish the ground would just open and swallow me whole! _

"Come with me to the 14th floor. We're almost the same fit. I have spare clothes you can borrow."

Cassidy starts to refuse but Patricia won't have it. "It's alright and not a big deal. It's just clothes. And it's the reason why we have _go bags,_ for emergency situations."

Cassidy's admiration of Deputy Director Campbell soared one thousand times more over that morning and thereafter. And for the record, she now has 3 _go bags_ under her desk.

-ooOOoo-

24 July 2016

On the sidelines, Cassidy has been keeping tabs on her idol. She admired her poise, her wit, her intelligence and the career path that she made for herself.

She heard that there is an opening at Deputy Director Campbell's team. This is the moment she has been preparing and waiting for ever since she joined the DIA three years ago. She started as an associate in Research and Intelligence and now she is the head of one of its teams. She has connections but doesn't want to use it. _Yet._

She passed on her application two weeks ago and has been on pins and needles since. She was on her lunch break when she decided to chop up her long hair and had a pixie cut. She donated the hair to charity. Her new haircut made her feel more professional and even more like Patricia. When she returned to work, her friend at HR, Julia, called her with the devastating news.

"Hey Cass, I'm sorry to tell you this. The position was filled in today. Deputy Director Campbell pulled out Ms. Hannah Rivera from field. If there'd be new positions, I'll give you a heads up. "

Her face fell. She didn't even make it to the interview process_._ "Copy that. Thanks Julia."

Cassidy felt crushed. She was so sure that she was getting that position that she has been quietly packing her stuff, finishing her actual official duties and even preparing her goodbye and thank you speeches for her current team.

She allowed herself a few more minutes to compose herself and then started tapping her pen on her desk to think.

_In this situation, what would Patricia Campbell do? _

_How does she handle receiving devastating news? _

Then she remembered that time when Patricia lost her only son and reported back to work only 10 days after. _She handled it like a boss! _

With her confidence picking up, she vowed to herself that she will work even harder. _This is just a setback Cass, one day soon Patricia Campbell will know my name and will be the one to recruit me herself. _

-ooOOoo-

Present day

Director Clemments sighed heavily. "The recommendation was based on the success study of the Special Ops group. Cassidy Meltzer has been monitoring your team's progress and she prepared and presented the report Friday morning.

This was news to Patricia. "I wasn't aware that we are being monitored."

"Technically, it was not official. It's just a side project for the Research and Intelligence Team headed by Cassidy. She's… uhm, my goddaughter. She has been idolizing you for years. When there was an opening for your team, she applied for the position but you have already pulled out Agent Hannah Rivera from the field. I told her to wait for the next opening. She then took the initiative to monitor your team's successes, progress and vacations leaves. I_ truly_ didn't see any harm in her doing that so I let her do it."

The Director picked up his phone and dialed Cassidy's local extension number. "I'm sure there's an explanation. Let me be the one to talk to her first please Patricia."

"You can talk to her first but _I want, no, I will_ be present in those talks. I need to be."

The line was picked up. "Research and Intelligence, Faith speaking."

"Faith, this is Director Clemments, Cassidy Meltzer please."

"Director good morning. Cassidy is on leave. Anything I can help you with?"

"Since when?"

"Let me see, she filed it last Friday afternoon. There's a note on her desk that she'll be back in 2 weeks."

"Ok thank you Faith."

Director Clemments pulled up his mobile and dialed Cassidy personal number "This is Cass, leave me a message…" He dialed Cassidy's dad, Phil, he answered in two rings. "Richard! Nice to hear from you! How's it going? How's Cassidy?"

His heart sank when he heard his friend's question but the Director went straight to the point. "I was hoping that Cassidy is with you. Do you know where she is?"

"Cass? Isn't she supposed to be with you there? She's not here. She hasn't been back here since her mother died."

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that Phil. She took a vacation leave and I thought she went there."

"Everything all right?" Phil's voice is laced with worry.

"Yeah, yeah, probably vacationing with her friends then. Just give me a call when you heard from her please. Just need a few things from her. Ok. Thanks buddy."

As soon as the Director's off the phone Patricia spoke. "She's on the wind. My team will do the digging on Cassidy." She turned her heels around and head towards to the door.

"Patricia, keep me on the loop please. Cassidy is a good person." He pleaded.

She simply lifted a brow, "Yet to be determined."


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, apologies for the very, very late posting of this new chapter. I hope that this lockdown ends soon and we can go back to our "new normal". I wish everyone well and please continue to be safe.

Much Obliged,

Abby

Chapter 5

Adam heard some male voices whispering and immediately stilled. He slowly opened one eye to see 2 much younger Asian guys, teenagers most likely, arguing and trying to be discreet. Thankfully they're speaking in English.

"I told you this is a bad idea." the one with the red sweatshirt said. He keeps looking at the door.

The one in the blue hoodie was opening drawers. "Just keep an eye out. I saw them put the guy's mobile in here somewhere. If we can get it, we can look for information and give it to Mr. Lee when he comes. We will be definitely be welcomed to the team after that. That's what we wanted right?"

"Just hurry up."

Adam saw that they found his phone and powered it up. When it prompted for a password, they got nervous and started pushing each other.

"See, this is a bad idea. What now genius?" the guy in red sarcastically said as he pushed his friend in the chest.

"Hold on. Let's see if it can be opened by a fingerprint or retina scanner."

Adam braced himself to be still as he felt the teenager's had lift his hand for his fingerprint. When the phone opened, the guys yelled their victory.They went through his camera roll first and is admiring Jaz's candid photos. The ones she didn't know he took.

Adam wasn't worried that they will get anything from his phone because all important data has been encrypted and would require more than just his fingerprints to open. What he didn't like was they are seeing Jaz and he somehow placed her in danger because she would be in their radar now. The teenagers were now so engrossed at looking at the photos when suddenly the mobile rang.

The teenagers panics and threw the phone back and forth amongst them. In their commotion, one of the guys accidentally pushed the tray beside him. They didn't notice it. Seizing this opportunity, he grabbed the closest thing he could and placed it under his hip. The teenagers shut off his mobile again, placed it back in the drawer and sighed in relief. They opened the door and quietly exited the room.

Adam blew out the breath he was holding and clasped the small knife in his hand. At least he has something.

-OOO-

Patricia had Noah pull up Cassidy Meltzer's records and put it on the big screen. "Guys, this is Cassidy Meltzer. She's head of Research and Intelligence and apparently has been monitoring us. Her research is the basis of why the team was given the weekend off. She's also the Director's goddaughter."

Jaz can't hold back. "Respectfully ma'am, I don't care if she's the Queen of England. I want to know what's her connection to Top's abduction."

Patricia nodded. "That's why we need to do a deep dive into her life. The what's, the who's, the why's , everything we can unearth about her, because for now, she's the only link we have to finding Dalton. Get to work." With determined faces, all nodded and started clicking on computers and mobiles.

Hannah approached Patricia. "Do you want me to share the footage Preach found with the FBI so they can rule out Dalton as a suspect?

Patricia paused to think. "Do they have any information from the tip line?"

"Not at the moment. It's quiet."

"Hold off for now. We need all the help and info we can get but we need to verify it first before we can share with the team."

"Copy that" Hannah returns to her station.

Patricia tells Noah to continue to monitor her mobile and her credit cards. _You messed with the wrong team Cassidy. _

-OOO-

Preach and Jaz teamed up and headed for Cassidy's office on the 10th floor. They were greeted by Faith and explained that Cassidy is on leave.

"Yeah we know she's on leave. Do you by any chance know where she is going?" enquired Preach. Jaz is giving her some serious glare.

"Suddenly Cass is very in demand huh?' Faith tried to lighten the moment. She swallowed nervously. " I don't know where she is. I swear. I just saw the note…"

"Who are her friends?" Jaz interjected

"Friends?" Faith's wringing her hands. "She has me. She doesn't have much. She's always working and closed off to people…"

"Get me a list names you think she would interact with along with places she frequently goes." Preach orders

Faith shifts her eyes from Preach to Jaz, shaking her head. "I can't do that. I can't be selling out my friend like that. Who gave you the authority to… "

"Take it up with the Director if you'd like. I want that list when we finish with her office." Preach didn't wait for Faith to reply and opened Cassidy's office.

As soon as Jaz closed the door, she spoke to Preach "Bold move. Think she'll call the Director to verify?"

Preach was already looking into the folders stacked up in the desk. "I don't care if she called the Director or not. We need to find Top ASAP. Right now, protocols are least of my worries."

When Jaz didn't answer, Preach approached her and gathered Jaz's surprisingly shaking hands. "Hey, look at me. We will find him ok. You know this. We will not stop until we find him."

Jaz gathered and steeled herself. What Top needs is Jaz the soldier, not Jaz the woman in love. With new determination in her eyes, she gripped back his hand hard. "Yes, we will. We will get him back."

-OOO-

Noah got Cassidy's home address from her file and sent the location to Amir and McG. As they head straight to the gated community, Amir asks McG. "Why do you think she set up Top? What could be her motivation? I mean, look at this house. It screams rich."

"I don't know man, but you know what they say, it's the quiet ones you need to look out for."

They got out of the car and looked around. No one is around and quiet. They head towards the door and Amir picks the lock.

McG called Noah. "Hey we're here and Amir is picking the lock. Hopefully she doesn't have an alarm."

"I'll be here ready to intercept…" Noah confidently answers.

There was a click and the door opens. Amir and McG were quick to go inside and look for the alarm. It isn't armed.

"Ok it's not on. Everything seems quiet. We will be looking around and update you." McG says as he is already following Amir to the living room.

Amir picks up a photo frame of a younger Cassidy and presumably her parents and says aloud. "What secrets are you hiding Cassidy Meltzer?"

They've gloved up and went upstairs and looked into the bedrooms and found nothing unusual. They continued their search through the kitchen. Amir was looking through drawers while McG opened the pantry door.

Amir is shaking his head "Are you seriously looking for food right now?"

Slightly offended, McG deflected, "Of course not! You can tell a lot about a person by the way they eat and Cassidy apparently likes quinoa because she them by the boatload."

Something flashed in his eye. _Is that light? _He skimmed his fingers around the wood cabinet and when he pushed, it moved slightly. He pushed all the way and revealed a staircase.

"Bingo!" McG exclaimed then remembered to tone his voice down in case they aren't alone. "Amir, come quick."

Amir looked at the stairways. "Hidden basement. Clever. " He taps McG's back. "Good job! "

McG smirks, "Not that clever, if I may say so."

With guns on their hands, they silently motioned to each other which way they should go. They quietly moved down the partially lit stairway, separated, and scoped the area for the potential threat.

Assessing no threat, Amir says "Clear." He opens the light as he simultaneously hear McG echoes "Clear" as well.

Then he hears McG shout "Oh my God".


End file.
